Binturongs, sometimes called bearcats, are arboreal Southeast Asian carnivores whose captive welfare depends on appropriate climbing structures, scent enrichment and careful social management.
Binturongs are often described as gentle and charismatic, but their welfare in captivity requires specific attention to their arboreal lifestyle and scent-based communication. Enclosures that lack adequate climbing height, branch complexity and substrate variety fail to support natural locomotion and resting postures. As scent-marking animals, they require stable territories where their own scent accumulates — frequent cleaning that removes scent marks causes significant stress. Social housing requires careful individual assessment as binturongs can be territorial with conspecifics. Best-practice facilities integrate elevated walkways, suspended hammocks and mixed substrate floors to approximate rainforest canopy conditions.